The Amazing Day

This weekend, our friends Chris and Adessa came to visit us! They moved to Anaheim last year, which is only about an hour away, but it's sadly far enough that we don't get to see them very often. They solidified their status as some of my favorite people when they brought dinner with them on Friday night, so I was greeted with the aroma of warm delicious pizza when I got home from work! We followed that up with Coldstone's and a walk on the beach, and then played Carcassonne until we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore. Carcassonne is Dan's & my new favorite board game. If you haven't played it yet, you're missing out! It's really fun with anywhere between two and four players. Trust us, even people who normally don't enjoy board games love this one!

Saturday was EPIC as far as packing as much as possible into one amazing day! We started the morning off with a big breakfast, then walked down to Mission Bay near our house. Five ladies from Dan's school were competing in outrigger canoe races there, and we made it in time to cheer for them during their last race of the day.

Next, we met our friends, Paul and Ann and their son Eli, at Lil' Piggy's Barbeque on Coronado for lunch. Paul, Chris, and Dan met each other through work years ago, and it didn't take long for the six of us to start hanging out. Since then, Paul and Ann had their little boy Eli, and Chris and Adessa have moved out of San Diego, but we still spend as much time together as possible. It was a gorgeous afternoon, so we walked off some of the heavy lunch afterwards.

But wait, the day's not over yet! We had made reservations for a sunset kayaking tour at La Jolla Cove that evening. None of us had been in a sea kayak before, and of all people, Chris seemed the most nervous about it (he's the only surfer in the group)! The lady who made our reservations said that it's more fun to rent double (tandem) kayaks if it's your first time, so you've got someone with you to share the experience.

All geared up and ready to go!

We didn't have a waterproof camera, so I double ziplocked our digital camera and hoped for the best! Our guide stopped the group a few times once we were mid-ocean and had us link together by holding onto each other's kayaks so he could point out landmarks and tell us about the area. The good part was that sitting still for a little while gave me chances to take a few careful pictures on the water. The bad part was that just sitting still & feeling the waves made me realize I was getting very seasick. I tend towards motion sickness, so I pulled out all my tricks - gazing at the horizon, drinking cold water, breathing deeply, etc. The thing is that when I feel sick on a windy road or in a turbulent stretch of air, usually everything is smooth again within a few minutes. When you're on the ocean, the. waves. never. stop. So eventually, the inevitable happened and the fish got a nice BBQ meal served over the side of the kayak. Suffice to say, it was not my most glamourous moment. We were linked in with the other kayaks while our guide was talking, and I remember looking back at Dan and saying "I think I'm going to throw up." He acted fast & paddled us away from the group a little bit, but unfortunately he was stuck with a front row view. I guess that's what the "in sickness & in health" part was about at our wedding - haha! Afterwards, Adessa said that she was feeling horribly seasick, too, so I'm glad Dan got me out of eyesight so I didn't start a chain reaction! He is yet again my hero.

I felt better then, and got to enjoy the fact that we were watching a beautiful sunset from the middle of the water. We didn't get to kayak inside the sea caves since the tide was too high that day, but we got good views of them from a short distance away. We had a huge pelican swim *this close* to our kayak, and man, they are scary looking up close! We also saw a curious harbor seal poke its head out of the water & watch us as we paddled our way back to shore. It was adorable!

Our guide tried to prepare us for the rough ride back into the shore with some tips on staying upright, but nevertheless the ocean won this round and Dan & I got dunked about 12 feet from the sand. We rode a big wave and it was awesome for about 3 seconds until we turned to the side & flipped over! I was so busy trying to escape from underneath the kayak and hold the camera out of the water that I forgot to hold onto my sunglasses. They, along with my lunch, were left behind as a memorial to our sea kayaking adventure. And I was reminded of exactly why I don't spend more than $15 on sunglasses.

Dan soaked from head to toe after our less than graceful landing.

Chris and Adessa made out much better than we did, and I got this amazing picture of them looking like pros with the ocean & cliffs behind them.

And thus concludes The Amazing Day.

Chris & Adessa joined us for church, lunch, and one last beautiful walk on the beach on Sunday before heading back home!

Dan's Haircut

I've been meaning to post these videos for a few weeks. Dan was asked to make a cameo appearance during his school's spring concert. They had an opera theme this year, so every grade sang classical opera songs in different languages. It was really impressive and the kids did a fantastic job, as always! I posted the video in a a few parts since there's a file size limit on downloading video. Sorry it's so choppy, but hopefully you get the idea of how cute it was. Enjoy!

The kids did an amazing job!

Who is that hairy man?

Ahh, much better!

Viva Las Vegas!

Dan was on spring break for two weeks, and his parents flew out to spend time with us! I didn't expect to get any time off from work, but thankfully some big projects were postponed, so I asked for a week of vacation time. There's nothing better than getting unexpected time off!

Dan's folks had a timeshare week they were itching to use, and we were more than happy to help them out! :) Plan A was to spend the week in San Francisco, but all the timeshares were booked solid there. So we quickly moved to Plan B ... Vegas, Baby!! All of us had been there for very brief visits before, but we were excited to explore the city and enjoy the hot summery weather for a week.

The iconic sign: Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!

Soon after we arrived, we met up with my former co-worker, Gary. He lives in the area and introduced us to one of our favorite new spots - Serendipity 3. They had the most decadent desserts, and it was fun to catch up with Gary since our days in Colorado.

Some of the best places to visit "in Las Vegas" are outside the city. We packed a picnic lunch and took a day trip to Hoover Dam.

We took a tour to see some of the inner workings of the dam, like the power generators.

Standing on the state line. Dad & Mom are in Nevada and Dan & I are in Arizona!

The new overlook bridge they built recently. It is high.

The spectacular view of Hoover Dam from the new bridge

Back to Las Vegas to enjoy The Strip at night!

No visit would be complete without watching the beautiful Bellagio fountain show

Or the volcano eruption at The Mirage

The next day, we went bargain hunting for show tickets

We saw "Jersey Boys: the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons". It was a great story and the singer who played Frankie Valli had the most incredible voice!

We spent an evening at the "Fremont Street Experience". This is in an older section of Las Vegas that's not super clean or safe, but they've worked hard to make Fremont Street more attractive to tourists. I was in sensory overload most of the time we were there - it was bustling with crowds, nonstop loud music, flashing lights everywhere, and crazy people dressed up in an assortment of costumes. I had to post some videos to give you an idea of how entertaining it was!


One of the street performers we enjoyed

Every hour, they showed a music video on the "ceiling" of Fremont Street. Everyone just stopped where they were and watched. We were told to keep one hand on our wallets, since this is a pickpocket's dream come true!

There was even a zipline above the street, so on top of everything else going on, you'd randomly hear people shreiking overhead.

This street artist was absolutely amazing! He sculpted people's faces in clay while they sat there. We saw him sculpt two people, and he really captured them!

We *somehow* found ourselves back at Serendipity 3 for dessert at 11 pm. You know what they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! (tell that to my scale - ha!)

We ordered two "Forbidden Broadway Sundaes" and split them. They were as big as our heads and full of chocolatey goodness!

We actually did no gambling while we were in Vegas, but we stopped in several casinos to see their decorations. The Bellagio had a gorgeous botanical garden.

The Venetian had elaborate ceilings (like the one above), and a canal that ran through their shopping mall, complete with gondolas!

New York, New York was fun to view from the outside. It wasn't as picture-worthy on the inside.

While we were in the area, we HAD to stop in the M&Ms store. Look at all the colors! Plus, you could personalize your M&Ms to say whatever you wanted.

This is what happens when Dan leaves me alone with a giant chocolate candy man. I just can't help myself! :)

The M&Ms race car

The MGM had a lion exhibit. Two lionesses were sleeping right on top of the viewer walkway when we stopped there the first time. I think it is so they'll be closer to their prey when the glass finally breaks!

They looked like roadkill from below. We walked back there later that day, and they were actually awake and playing with rubber balls.

We spent another fun day outside the city at Red Rocks Canyon.

Proof that the CR-V is still kickin' and taking us on fun road trips!

It was SUPER windy that day! Dan & Dad are leaning into the wind so they won't get blown away.

A beautiful view of the canyon and some Joshua trees

Our last night in Vegas, we saw Cirque du Soleil's "Ka". It was different from the typical Cirque shows we've seen, but I really enjoyed it. It told a clear story and the special effects they created with the stage were incredible!

It was a wonderful vacation, and we were thankful that Dan's parents could come and spend spring break with us. They're so fun to spend time with, and they're up for any adventure! :)

We weren't sure at first how we'd fill an entire week in Vegas since none of us is into gaming & gambling, which is all you hear about Las Vegas, but we actually ran out of time to do everything we wanted to! Besides all the sight-seeing, we also enjoyed our nice pool at the condo since the weather was in the 80s and 90s, and I squeezed in a couple of 4-mile runs, too, since I'm getting close enough to my half marathon that it's not a good idea to skip a week.

I think Dan and I may go back to Vegas again sometime soon to lounge by the pool and catch some shows that we weren't able to fit in last week!

March Madness

I can't believe we're so far into March already - February just flew by! Work for both of us has gotten busier, but other than that things have been pretty normal. Except on Feb. 15th, we were leaving Dan's high school guys' basketball game and stopped at a red light, when we were rear ended by a pickup truck! We were talking to each other at the time & never saw it coming, so it took us a few seconds to take in the situation and make sure we were each okay. In the meantime, the other driver used those few seconds to take off! Neither of us got a good look at the guy's face as he drove away, but I did get his licence plate number. God took care of us and neither of us was hurt (just headaches & neck aches afterwards) and the CR-V was minimally damaged.

We called the police and reported the hit-and-run, but we don't know if they'll ever catch the guy. He probably just didn't have insurance, but who knows, he could've been drunk driving or been a criminal for all we know. Fortunately he hit the spare tire dead-on, which was kind of like head-butting a unicorn. There's a metal pole protruding from the center (a remnant from an old bike rack) that we think may have punctured the guy's radiator based on all the fluid he left behind. We hope it was expensive for him to fix, because our car's now a little more beat up but still drivable, thankyouverymuch.

Classy? No. But it packs a punch.

On a much more fun note, I got to have dinner recently with Mrs. Dottie Myatt, my college roommate Lili's mom! I lived with Lili during my Junior & Senior years of college and got to know her family better during that time. Mrs. Dottie is the chair of the education department at Union University, and was visiting San Diego for an education conference. She's the sweetest lady, and it was wonderful to get to spend time with her catching up on the past 10+ years. Having dinner with her made me miss my mom like crazy, though!

As far as daily stuff, half marathon training has been going well. I've been running 4 days and weight training 2 days a week. Since it's dark when I get home from work, I've been working out at 6:30 a.m. and shockingly I'm still alive. Early mornings have always been my Achilles heel, but it is so nice to have it done for the day, and now when I get home from work I can spend the whole evening with Dan instead of going for a run at 6 p.m. Dan's surprised me by keeping up with most of the running on my training schedule - he hates running (or any form of exercise except hockey, for that matter). I'm really proud of him! He's even joined me on all the Saturday long runs, and we ran 7 miles yesterday!

(If you don't complete the workout, you deal with Taz)

Since I've been running more, I've been trying to eat at least one banana every day for the potassium. I just found a trick that makes eating them so much more fun! Banana soft serve! Just cut or tear a banana into bite-sized pieces and put them in a baggie or tupperware and place in the freezer overnight. Then put the frozen pieces into a food processor or chopper and blend until creamy. Sometimes I have to add a tiny amount of water to get it to blend well, but the final consistency is like soft serve ice cream. It's delicious, healthy, and perfect as the weather get warmer! You can add a little peanut butter or other frozen fruits, like strawberries. It's basically a smoothie, just less liquidy.

I have a small food chopper, which is the perfect size for one banana.

Banana-strawberry soft serve. Yum!!!! I foresee ice cream for breakfast in the near future!

His & Hers

Dan and I have very different opinions about what constitutes "fun" exercise. I prefer running, and he says nothing is as fun as a game of hockey. Neither of us even remotely enjoys the other's activity of choice. I submit to you the facts.

Running

The gear: Pretty, new running shoes. Okay, pretty is optional, but new is at least better on your joints than old shoes.

The look: You must dress like a ninja, to better intimidate the other runners and their dogs.

The view: I usually run along Mission Bay, which has ruined me from enjoying running on a treadmill for.the.rest.of.my.life.

Debby in action during the Shelter Island 5K.

Bonus Points: Running can be either a social or an "alone time" activity. Depending on how often & how long you run, it can require no training or a lot of training, so what you accomplish is up to you. Also, you don't need high tech gear besides the shoes, so it can be very affordable, although of course you could spend thousands on name brands, gadgets, and races if you wish.

Bummers: It can be a monotonous and lonely sport, especially when you're running longer distances. So it's easy to slack off since no one is watching you or depending on your performance. You can get overuse injuries from using the same muscles in the same motion constantly, so you may need to shake things up with activities you enjoy less. Plus, bad weather = treadmills. bah.

Roller Hockey

The gear: hockey sticks (a second one for back-up in case of breakage), and in the giant duffel bag - skates, pads, gloves, helmet, face shield, and the optional knee braces to prevent twisted knees. (cute children not included)

The view: I don't have any problem with what the roller rink looks like, but if you could smell that place...the aroma of dozens of sweaty men. I guess when you're one of those sweaty men, it doesn't seem so bad.

Dan in action

Bonus Points: Hockey is fast-paced with a lot of sprinting, so you won't get bored. It forces you to get into shape fast and you can try playing different positions for more of a challenge. It's a good way to meet friends and form camaraderie over teamwork. It's competitive and your team counts on you, so you have fewer opportunities to slack off.

Bummers: It takes a lot of practice to move well on skates and handle the puck with a stick. There is really no way to play the game without cost, since you need the equipment and you have to pay to rent a facility (whether it's indoors or outdoors). Also, the body-to-body contact and flying projectiles means you will acquire bruises. BIG ones.

Yeah, you have fun with that, Dan. The worst injury I had this week was a grass stain on my shoe.